Conventional power-seat systems provide for adjusting the driver and passenger seat to a variety of positions.
One common arrangement permits adjusting these seats in six different directions. Three reversible motors operate each power seat. Different motors operate to control movement of the front and the back of each seat, e.g, independently raising and lowering the front or rear of each seat.
A pair of control switch assemblies for this arrangement, located on the lower outboard side of the driver and passenger seats, control the operation of the seat motors. A front rocker-type switch in each assembly raises or lowers (tilts) the front of the seat. A middle 4-way "joy-stick" type lever in the assembly raises or lowers the complete seat by moving the lever up or down. The middle lever also moves the complete seat forward or rearward by moving the lever forward or rearward. A rear rocker-type switch in the assembly raises or lowers the back of the seat.
Such an arrangement requires individual switch assemblies for each seat. Within the assembly, a separate switch controls an individual motor. Hence, six switches and six motors provide means for controlling driver and passenger seat movement in six different directions.
A co-pending application of the present inventors, Ser. No. 07/520,920, filed on even date teaches using a rotary switch to select the driver or the passenger power seat and then use individual switches to control movement of the selected seat. This approach limits movement to eight different directions, but other arrangements are required to expand the capabilities of the system.
Hence, to add movement of the seat in other directions, such as reclining the back seat, would require additional motors, wires and switches and motion control gearing to effect the movement.
In an effort to minimize the need for additional components to achieve additional power-seat orientations, a search was initiated to find other schemes for power-seat control. That search ended in the improved power-seat switch control presented in the instant invention.